ThinkPad 10 convertible combines Bay Trail SoC, HD display

While Microsoft is rumored to be prepping a 64-bit Surface tablet based on Atom silicon, Lenovo has already announced one. The new ThinkPad 10 is coming in June, and it will reportedly feature a quad-core Bay Trail chip paired with up to 4GB of RAM and the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1. The tablet is encased in an aluminum chassis, the screen is covered by a protective layer of Gorilla Glass, the battery promises 10 hours or run time, and the docking connector mates with multiple accessories. Sounds good, no?

Lenovo hasn’t posted the full specifications online, and there’s some disagreement in the reports posted around the web. For example, Engadget says the 10" screen has a 1920×1200 resolution, while Paul Thurrot’s Supersite for Windows claims it’s a 1080p unit. Either way, you’re getting a nice step up from the 1366×768 resolution that plagues all too many Atom-based tablets. A stylus is in the cards, too, and PC World suggests that it’s based on Wacom digitizer tech.

The Lenovo press release is a little short on specifics, but according to Thurrot, Intel’s Atom Z3795 SoC provides the horsepower. This chip has a 1.59GHz base clock and a 2.39GHz Burst frequency, making it similar to the old Z3770. It’s unclear whether the Z3795 will be the only CPU option. Versions of the ThinkPad 10 will reportedly be available with 2-4GB of memory and 64-128GB of flash storage, though. More storage can be added via the microSD slot, and there are mini-sized USB 2.0 and HDMI ports onboard.

Now, the ThinkPad 10 isn’t just a tablet. The slate slides into a $129 "Ultrabook full sized keyboard" that turns the machine into a lap-friendly hybrid. This dock has a wide touchpad and nice-looking keys, but I don’t see any additional USB ports. It looks like the angle of the screen may be fixed, as well.

A second keyboard accessory will be available for $119. This one loosely resembles Microsoft’s Surface Touch Cover, so it’s probably not as good for sustained typing. Lenovo is also prepping a $119 docking station equipped with three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI output, and a wired Ethernet jack. The tablet itself will start at $599.

As someone who has been pining for an upscale Atom convertible ever since Windows 8 debuted, I’m particularly intrigued by the ThinkPad 10. If the build quality and keyboard are up to ThinkPad standards, this could be my next ultraportable.

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Still too expensive. It is a tiny step ahead of the HP Omni 10″, which sells for around $300 now.

DragonDaddyBear

5 years ago

I am waiting for something like this and with a 4G modern built in.

frogg

5 years ago

The keyboard is not at Thinkpad standards, no trackpoint ; Lenovo seems to be just killing, one model after the other the Thinkpad brand. So you have to rely on a small trackpad , which is completely ridiculous i think. I know some who will want to throw this keyboard through the window, or buy a minimouse. A trackpoint would have been particularly efficient on this tiny keyboard.

As for the aspect ratio, it seems from the picture, that it is 16:10; a departure, at last, from the ridiculous 16:9 they gave us (thinkpad users) since almost 5 years. There’s some hope, after all.

NeelyCam

5 years ago

I never understood the trackpoint. I never got used to using it – touchpads/trackpads seem way more accurate to me.

Using a trackpoint is like playing Civilization with a joystick

Flying Fox

5 years ago

You can get fairly accurate with the Trackpoint with practice, just like a trackpoint person will need time to adjust to trackpad too. The big thing about Trackpoint is for people who type a lot on the keyboard, the finger does not need to move too far away from the home keys.

I also see the lack of a the nub be an issue. I think they may be overestimating the touch pad and the touchscreen (I suppose even when docked one can still use the touchscreen?). This may backfire a bit for them. However, there is always the [url=http://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-Compact-Bluetooth-Keyboard-TrackPoint/dp/B00C32FWJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400099615&sr=8-1

Ninjitsu

5 years ago

It just follows your mind, man! It’s like, weeeeed man!

No, seriously, i found it freaky. Anyway, main point of it was not having to move your fingers from the keyboard, as Flying Fox describes.

shank15217

5 years ago

The point is simple, the track point allows you to track and type without moving your palm. The only problem is that, fewer and fewer people actually can touch type, let alone use a thinkpad point. Its an interface for advanced users like people who do work over large spreadsheets. Multi monitors and high resolutions are basically making this interface obsolete.

Laykun

5 years ago

I believe it’s name is a “nipple mouse” *teeheehee*

willmore

5 years ago

Keyboard clitoris.

NeelyCam

5 years ago

It sounded good until

[quote

frogg

5 years ago

Ok, but you have to agree that this keyboard is for casual use only, emails come to mind;

NeelyCam

5 years ago

Even then.. I’m basing my opinion on comparing Asus Transformer T100 (10″) to my old CULV laptop (11.6″) and my shiny new Acer Chromebook (11.6″). The 10″ T100 was just cramped… it was a strain to write emails on it. The 11.6″ ones were just large enough to make the experience difference feel like night/day.

Of course, your mileage may vary – people’s hands are different. And I too stupid to do any real stuff on a computer, so my needs are simple… mostly just typing URLs or emails, and trolling on tech websites

BoilerGamer

5 years ago

I have found keyboards on any sub 13″ device unsatisfactory, hence why I went with a 7″ tablet(soon to be upgrade to 8.3-8.4″) with a 13.3″ laptop instead of a 10″ hybrid solution.

ermo

5 years ago

Agreed — a 16:10 1920x1200p convertible in 11.6″ with USB3, SSD and MicroSDXC (or whatever the SD standard du jour is these days) and a battery in the dock (preferrably mounted towards the user-facing edge for balance reasons) would be nice. I’d probably use it with the dock most of the time, but it’d still be nice to be able to use it in tablet mode occasionally.

The 16:10 form factor ensures that the machine won’t be too wide at 11.6″, yet will still have enough room for a decent height touchpad.and a decent width/height keyboard, not to mention that 16:10 is slightly better for productivity than 16:9.

odizzido

5 years ago

Anything larger than 10 inches is something I don’t want. Smaller I can do though.

SomeOtherGeek

5 years ago

Please, please… Have a battery in the keyboard. Longevity is most important to me.

elMojo

5 years ago

I agree, but Bay Trail Atom is capable of [url=https://techreport.com/review/25537/asus-transformer-book-t100-convertible-notebook-reviewed/7

SomeOtherGeek

5 years ago

But it says that it has a microSD slot, so your storage is covered. Battery life is not.

kamikaziechameleon

5 years ago

Ain’t getting windows 8 without 8 gb of ram. Sorry. It seems like too much of a bottleneck for the #1 utility of a desktop OS… multitasking.

Sargent Duck

5 years ago

I wonder, can you use the keyboard AND docking station together? As in create an-all-in-one descktop replacement?

xand

5 years ago

Uh, if you use the tablet and the keyboard together it’s already an “all-in-one”?

If you want a dock it means you have a separate monitor, so just get another keyboard/mouse set. Desktop all-in-ones have a separate keyboard/mouse typically?

drfish

5 years ago

It’s great to have more options, this looks like a good one. A lot depends on what MS says on Tuesday but this announcement makes a 64-bit Bay Trail Surface seem more likely and I’m not sure I could turn one down…

sweatshopking

5 years ago

sounds like it’s priced similarly to the surface pro when all is said and done. it’s a little cheaper, but you’re trading haswell for atom, and while lenovo has typically good build quality, the surfaces are impeccable. I’d look at one. i’d love the surface mini to be baytrail based.

BoilerGamer

5 years ago

I wouldn’t call a $599 tablet and $899 tablet(Surface pro 2) “priced similarly”, to a lot of people a $300 price difference on a hybrid tablet is certainly more than ” a little cheaper”.

sweatshopking

5 years ago

That’s a fair point. For some reason I thought it said $799. I should learn to read.